The Great Debate

The Great Debate was a historic discussion in 1920 between astronomers Arthur Eddington and Richard Turán, about Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. Eddington supported Einstein’s idea that gravity curves spacetime, affecting light from distant stars during a solar eclipse, which was observational proof. Turán questioned whether the data truly confirmed this or could be explained by other factors. The debate highlighted the importance of empirical evidence in scientific theories and helped advance our understanding of gravity and the universe’s structure.